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Case Study: Standards drive evaluation of nursing excellence
Currently, only 256 hospitals in 45 states and two international facilities, one in Australia and one in New Zealand, have been recognized for excellence in nursing service by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program. ANCC developed the program to recognize health care organizations providing nursing excellence and disseminate successful nursing practices and strategies.
ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program
The program began during the US nursing shortage in 1981, when the American Academy of Nursing wanted to determine why some hospitals had a high rate of nursing recruitment and retention and others did not. The analysis identified 14 areas in which certain hospitals or “magnets” for professional nurses excelled. Later analysis determined that hospitals retaining highly qualified nurses consistently were able to provide excellent care. Today, ANCC awards the Magnet designation to hospitals providing sufficient evidence of excellence in nursing and patient care.
Consumers benefit from the program because it offers a benchmark to help measure the quality of care they can expect to receive. As U.S. News & World Report’s list of "America's Best Hospitals" is compiled each year, being a Magnet facility contributes to the total score for quality of inpatient care. Of the 18 medical centers listed in U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 Honor Roll, 12 were Magnet hospitals.
Applying for Magnet designation is a complex undertaking. Though only 4% of US hospitals have achieved Magnet status, each year more begin the application process. Achieving Magnet recognition requires intensive staff education to ensure up-to-date knowledge of regulations, best practices and quality-of-care standards. Nurse administrators are required to hold advanced degrees, and the hospital must meet regulatory standards such as those recommended in the US National Patient Safety Goals. The final step in the application process is a site visit.
One medical center’s journey
In 2004, Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California made a commitment to endorse and achieve the Magnet Recognition Program’s goals: clinical excellence, improved patient outcomes, quality care, better processes, open dialogue and a collaborative working environment. The community facility, founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, serves Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties — home to a diverse community.
Prior to beginning the journey toward Magnet recognition, Queen of the Valley’s nursing staff vacancy rate was 24%; since committing to an environment that strongly supports nursing education, clinical standards, nursing skills and patient outcomes, the vacancy rate fell to 7.8% and continues to decrease. According to Jessica Eads, the director of Queen of the Valley’s’s Nursing Center of Excellence, “Our administration has encouraged nurses to return to school with educational and scholarship support that almost entirely covers state school tuition. And the provision of unit-level educators has greatly enhanced our ability to support nurses with evidence-based information.”
The role of Mosby’s Nursing Consult
As part of that unit-level education, Queen of the Valley Medical Center began subscribing to Mosby’s Nursing Consult. Eads said, “We got so excited about it. Our nurses can learn evidence-based practice and incorporate it into everyday nursing care. Everything about Magnet recognition is based on standards. The journals and clinical updates available on Mosby’s Nursing Consult are very useful for teaching these standards. The site’s email capability allows me, the nurse managers and other educators to instantly share articles with staff without having to make copies. The unit nurse educators can print out the articles from their email, highlight them and post them on the units for the nursing staff to read.”
According to Eads, Mosby’s Nursing Consult can help nursing staff raise the level of care within a medical center by providing ready access to state-of-the art information. She remarked, “It becomes an everyday means for us to share the latest research and communicate with each other. When you are going for Magnet, one of the most important things you want to do, especially in recruiting new nurses, is to show them that decisions made in nursing care need to be based on standards.”
In 2008, Queen of the Valley Medical Center will apply for Magnet recognition status. And while Mosby’s Nursing Consult is helping the facility to achieve Magnet status, it’s also helping the facility in other important ways. The facility’s goal is not just to attain Magnet status. Rather, it’s to create an environment that supports nurses, practice standards and excellent care. Commented Eads, “Queen of the Valley is successfully creating a working environment that supports nurses, fosters collaboration and challenges us to continually improve processes, incorporate best practices and advocate for nursing as a profession.” 
Mosby’s Nursing Skills is another resource that can help medical facilities achieve and maintain their Magnet Certification. Covering the 14 components of Magnet hospitals, Mosby’s Nursing Skills can help nursing administrators complete the requirements for Magnet Certification.
www.nursingskills.com
